“Swingin’
In The Snow” showcases a stellar cast on timeless seasonal classics
with album sales benefiting the Autism Society of America

As cool as a winter’s eve, as warm as a holiday dinner with loved ones,
and as beautiful as an exquisitely ornamented Christmas tree , Rick Braun’s “Swingin’ In The Snow”
is a celebration of “the most wonderful time of the year” featuring
some of the contemporary jazz star’s talented friends. Braun produced
the elegant 11-song set that will be released by Brauntosoarus Music on October 16th. The merry band of musical elves who joined the trumpeter-vocalist in his workshop include Mindi Abair, David Benoit, Gregg Karukas, Dave Koz, Philippe Saisse, Kirk Whalum, Peter White, a string quartet and a gospel choir led by R&B crooner Jeffrey Osborne. Braun will donate one dollar from each album sale to the Autism Society of America.

“Since I was a kid, I spent every Christmas enjoying classic holiday recordings by artists like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald,
which inspired ‘Swingin' In The Snow.’ I had a blast recording these
great tunes and am honored that so many of my dearest friends, who
happen to be incredible musicians, shared their talent with me to create
this wonderful project. This is real music being played by real
musicians and my hope is that you will enjoy listening to us as much as
we enjoyed making the record,” said Braun, who will again be touring
this holiday season as part of A Peter White Christmas with White and
Abair, an 18-city U.S. trek that begins the day after Thanksgiving
(November 23) in Austin, Texas and concludes December 22nd in San Diego.

Counting
off with a dose of big band bombast, the album opens in full swing on
“I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm.” Wide-eyed with excitement, “It’s
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” is as enchanting as ever. The
flugelhorn and piano intro for “Oh Tannenbaum” adds a moment of seasonal
solemnity before a pitter patter beat sets the stage for Braun’s suave
and sophisticated vocals and a children’s chorus. Braun and Abair’s
charming voices flirtingly frolic on “Baby Its Cold Outside.” Saisse
crafted a traditional arrangement for “The Christmas Song” whereas Braun
and White’s fresh take on “Sleigh Ride” is a cheerful acoustic guitar
and percussion powered jaunt. Braun bewitches on “Have Yourself A Merry
Little Christmas” with an assist from an embracing Koz sax solo. The
Allentown, Pennsylvania native gives a shout out to his home state on
“No Place Like Home For The Holidays” followed by a mesmerizing
rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” In an imaginative tribute to
The Drifters, “White Christmas” becomes a finger-popping doo-wop
number. “Silent Night” is beatified by a celestial choir and inspired
offerings from Braun’s flugelhorn and Whalum’s sax.

Stylistically, “Swingin’ In The Snow” is a continuation of Braun’s mid-career reinvention that began with last year’s “Sings With Strings”
disc. After 18 years as an instrumentalist who repeatedly topped the
contemporary jazz albums and singles charts both as a recording artist
and as an in demand producer, songwriter and featured guest musician,
the suburban Los Angeles resident realized a dream by stepping up to the
microphone to sing standards. Although he sung backup for Rod Stewart, Sade
and others earlier in his career, the horn man had never sung before as
a frontman on a gorgeously orchestrated project. His consistently
growing catalogue of radio hits and years of performing on the concert
stage has made Braun an enduring fan favorite. For more information,
please visit www.rickbraun.com.

Braun’s “Swingin’ In The Snow” contains the following holiday chestnuts:

Thursday, October 04, 2012

The
music community is buzzing with excitement about the debut CD release
by guitarist Dennis Haklar titled 'Lizard's Tale', featuring guest
performances by music legends Jon Anderson (YES) and Larry Coryell.
Also featuring Mark Egan on bass (known for his work with Pat
Metheny) and Thierry Arpino (known for his work with Jean-luc Ponty) on drums, 'Lizard's Tale' is an
enchanting, dynamic jazz-inspired album filled with emotional
virtuosic performances.

"Dennis
Haklar asked me to sing on his very inspired album earlier this year,
we had already been working on a large scale project dealing with
Ancient Asian music, so it was such fun to hear what he was creating.
I said I would enjoy singing ideas as they came to me, and to join
vocally with such great musicians. It has been a pleasure for me to
sing on this album, I hope that people will find time to relax and
enjoy." - Jon Anderson

Hailing
from Amboy, New Jersey, Haklar studied jazz guitar at an early age.
At Rutgers University he became interested in Electronic music and
worked with a modular Arp 2600 synthesizer with many osc modules,
sequencing, as well as several reel-to-reel tape machines, creating
sounds in unorthodox ways. After college he joined the Improvising
Structures Ensemble, which was an avant garde outfit that performed
the music of John Cage, Terry Riley, as well as original
compositions. Dennis entered one of his pieces into a young composers
competition and won a student membership to IRCAM in France. This
culminated in a master class with Pierre Boulez at Carnegie Hall; an
evening he conducted and premiered his masterpiece "Explosante Fixe".
Haklar confesses "I was never the same after that divine
experience!"

And
how did Dennis Haklar secure such music icons as Jon Anderson and
Larry Coryell to perform on his debut album? Dennis explains, "A
few years ago I began to collaborate over the internet with Jon
Anderson on a large-scale work. Charka Music, very involved. I had
also sent him some music I had written. He sang on several pieces and
we continue to collaborate. When I was working on composing the music
to 'Lizard's Tale', I had sent Jon four compositions we had just
recorded in the studio – 'Leap Of Faith', 'Prelude To Dawn', 'Dawn
Of An Era' and 'Crossing Over'. He quickly responded with the perfect
vocal tracks and really helped convey the meaning of the songs. I
love working with Jon!" As far as connecting with guitar legend
Larry Coryell, says Dennis, "I had known Larry Coryell for several
years studying jazz improvisation and composition with him. I had
presented some songs to him that I was preparing for this project and
asked if he would be interested in playing on the recording session
and producing it. He agreed and we got to work straight away. We had
composed the title track in one sitting. As the project developed we
had agreed that the best rhythm section for this would be bassist
Mark Egan and drummer Thierry Arpino."

"This
was a great session - it was a real 'Jersey-New York' thing complete
with bedbugs in the hotel down the street from the studio, which was
either too hot or too cold - plus there was all kinds of equipment and
mechanical problems. Nothing went smoothly - hence it was a great
record, sometimes it's like that. Dennis's European-inspired work ethic
also paid off - especially for his compositions and arrangements. One
twelve-string part he wrote for me was not easy to play, and he was
makin' me sweat - but I got it after he showed me the correct fingering.
Mark Egan and Thierry Arpino were superb - we've been playing together
for some years now, and they are a tight team. I was blown away by the
beautiful contribution made by the great Jon Anderson - I've always been
a fan, and he certainly has evolved to a special place in the vocal
spectrum. And so in tune!! It was a crazy session - and a good one -
that's why I nicknamed this date as 'Denny and the Mad Hungarians'." -
Larry Coryell

The
concept behind 'Lizard's Tale' is awareness. The lizard represents
friendship, and is quick to escape from harms way. The lizard can
survive for long periods of time in harsh environments. The pieces on
'Lizards Tale' evoke the ability to look inward for peace and harmony
with the universe, to flow with it. "Leap Of Faith" is about
courage to face the unknown and leap without fear. "Dawn Of An Era" is
about the realization that this is not the same world as your
fathers and we must adapt to survive, like the lizard. As the lizard
runs across the desert, he looks to the heavens and dreams of
crossing over. We journey with the lizard.

In
closing, Dennis has this message to impart to his listeners: "Look
inward to find that place of peace. Move towards the realization that
we all come from a place of love. There are always conflicts
surrounding. Unrest is an ever-changing world. Let go of bad energy
and amp the good. My wish is that people hearing the music will
become a part of it, and allow it to become part of them."